The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-12
THE REPUBLICANS RESPONSIBLE.

THE REPUBLICANS RESPONSIBLE
Democratic papers are trying to discount the
effect of the recent exposure of Harvey's big
swindle in the Treasury Department by
charging it on the defective system. AS the
present system of adjusting accounts grew
M mainly under Republican administrations,
this is an attempt to throw the responsibility
of Democratic officials stealing to Re-
publican shoulders. One of these Democratic
wiseacres says:
There is petty bank in the country
that has not, as a rule, more effective system
of counter checks upon its tellers than the
department officials who hold that relation to
the United States government are subject to.
In the quarter of century that the Republic
an party had the executive departments OF
the government in charge, a monstrous fabric
of decentralization and humbug was built up,
pretendedly favoring guard against dis
honesty, but in reality making the very dis
honesty it was intended to prevent all the
more simple and easy"
This is new charge against the Republic
an party. Definitely formulated it is that
the Republican party, during the years it was
in power, failed to provide proper safeguards
against Democratic stealing. This charge is
now made for the first time, but we shall
probably hear good deal more of it during
the next few years. AS the exposures of
Democratic rascalities in Office multiply it
will become necessary for the party leaders
and press to find some defense, and this
one is ingeniously framed to throw the re-
sponsibility on Republicans, it will probably
be generally adopted. Perhaps it is well
enough to state that the present system and
methods of doing business in the Treasury
and other departments at Washington were
not designed primarily detective system
or trap for thieves. The main object was to
facilitate the transaction of public business
and to provide such system of entries files,
checks and balances as would preserve record
of each transaction and as far possible
guard against fraud and insure accuracy,
while doing justice between the government
and individuals Such a system would
naturally presuppose the honesty of the men
administering it. 1t would aim to provide
main it would assume the honesty of those
charged with its execution. This was the
kind of system devised and developed under
Republican administrations. 1t worked
well in Republican hands. Notwith-
standing the Democratic campaign
cries of "open the books" and
sturn the rascals out" when they took pos
session of the Treasury Department they
found the books and accounts in perfect or
der, the cash balanced to cent, though the
footings ran up into the hundreds of millions,
and, to their great surprise, the Democrats
found every thing absolutely correct. The sys-
tenn had worked well in Republican hands. The
Republican chief of the horse division in the
Third Auditors Office, like all the other Treas
ury officials, high and low, was able to pre-
sent a clean record. His books were opened
and found to be correct. He had held the Of
fee for about twenty years, discharging its
duties with punctilious care and fidelity, and
his accounts were found perfectly straight.
In this he was not peculiar, for all the other
Treasury officials were the same way. Neither
was he peculiar in being removed to make
room for Democratic reformer. Along with
other Republican ''rascals" he stepped down
and out, and Mr.. Oscar J. Harvey, along with
other Democratic reformers, stepped up and
in. Mr.. Harvey had not been in Office long
before he found sthe system" was defective.
He found there was a ch ance for stealing. All
that was necessary was to forge few names,
entries, Endorsements, stamps, ETC., and he
proceeded to do it, He kept on doing it for
more than year, and pocketed about $11 900
by his operations. Unfortunately, ''the sys-
tenn" permitted him to do it. Not being au-
tomato it did not seize him by the coat collar
and place him under arrest 1t was SO imper-
fectly devised that it failed to notify the chief
of police that Harvey was stealing, and did
not even inform the Secretary of the Treasury
that one of his new appointees thief; it
was Republican system. and it broke down
under Democratic administration. And now
Democratic papers charge the responsibility of
| Harveys swindle on the REPUBLICAN party,
| which established and developed this mon
| strous system. It is very embarrassing
charge, and Republicans may as well face
| it. Their only defense is that the system
| was not devised for Democrats.
THE OIL PRODUCT.